1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector device for signal interconnection and mechanical interconnection of a plurality of components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Methods for connecting a plurality of components to each other or for connecting components and signals (electrical wiring cables) may be roughly divided into two types. With the conventional connector device shown in FIG. 1, a male connector 1001 is inserted into a female connector 1000 in a direction V1 perpendicular to a connector surface 1002 of the female connector 1000 for being connected. This type of connector is used in BNC (bayonet lock type N Connector) connectors, IC (integrated circuit) sockets and cordless telephone chargers etc.
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show another example of the conventional connector device, with a male connector 1006 being connected to a female connector 1005 in a horizontal direction H1. This is applied to, for example, camera strobes or secondary battery chargers.
The conventional connector devices of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 have the following problems. The direction of connecting the male and female connectors is limited to just the vertical direction V1 in FIG. 1 and the horizontal direction H1 in FIG. 2. The signals of the male and female connectors therefore cannot be subjected to signal connection when an obstacle is placed in the direction of connection.
For example, FIG. 4 shows an example of an actual application of the conventional connector device of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 where a female connector 1005 is fixed to a component 1007. When the male connector 1006 is moved in the horizontal direction H1 with respect to the female connector 1005 for being connected, another component 1008 present in the horizontal direction H1 therefore prevents the male connector 1006 to be connected to the female connector 1005.
Further, there is also the case where the male and female connectors cannot be connected due to the shape of the component. FIG. 5 shows an example of this, where the female connector 1005 is fixed to a component 1010 and a male connector 1011 is fixed to the other component 1012. The following problem then occurs due to the component 1012 having a projection 1013. When the male connector 1011 of the component 1012 is moved in the horizontal direction H1 in order to connect electrically a signal with the female connector 1005 of the component 1010, a side surface of the component 1010 interferes with the projection 1013 and the male connector 1011 cannot connect a signal to the female connector 1005.
When the direction of connection and the direction of force applied to the connector device coincide, it becomes sometimes difficult to maintain the strength of the mechanical connection. When the male connector 1001 is electrically connected to the female connector 1000 along the direction V1 perpendicular to the connection surface 1002 of the female connector 1000 shown in FIG. 1, in many cases they are prevented from coming off by simply providing a hanging claw, but when the direction of external forces such as gravity acting on the connector device coincides with the vertical direction V1, force is concentrated onto the claw and there is the possibility that the claw will be damaged.